Reel LifeA shrink looks at men, women, marriage, movies, and more.https://www.psychologytoday.com/
en-US30Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:24:08 -0500Thu, 17 Feb 2011 10:24:08 -0500Friends and Enemies in the Movieshttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201102/friends-and-enemies-in-the-movies
The six movies contending for Best Picture Oscar confront us with what people go through in real life.AdolescenceBeautyBiasBullyingEmpathyGenderHumorMediaParentingRelationshipsResilienceShynessSocial LifeSocial NetworkingStage Frighthttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201102/friends-and-enemies-in-the-movies#comments55707 at http://psychologytoday.comThu, 17 Feb 2011 10:24:08 -0500Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.Choose Your Poisonhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201011/choose-your-poison
Short of driving drunk or driving stoned, the most dangerous sport may be football. A brain is far too valuable to use as disposable padding.ADHDBeautyChronic PainDietGenderHealthIntelligenceNeuroscienceParentingPsychiatryPsychopharmacologyPunishmentReligionSmokingSport and CompetitionSuicideTeamworkhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201011/choose-your-poison#comments50263 at http://psychologytoday.comMon, 08 Nov 2010 17:44:47 -0500Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.Marriage Is Hard: Film Review—The Kids Are All Righthttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201008/marriage-is-hard-film-review-the-kids-are-all-right
THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT is a new movie overflowing with wisdom and honesty. Marginalizing men into mere sperm donors does not completely detoxify them. A family can't be perfected, but when you are part of it, it can be understood and appreciated. Its OK if the family you grew up in did not approach normality. There is nothing wrong with a marriage like the one you grew up in. All families straight or gay, male or female, it's all more the same than otherwise.BeautyCareerDivorceGenderHappinessHealthHumorMarriageParentingRelationshipsSexWisdomhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201008/marriage-is-hard-film-review-the-kids-are-all-right#comments44033 at http://psychologytoday.comFri, 06 Aug 2010 18:20:29 -0400Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.Say No Thank You To the Nice Ladyhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201005/say-no-thank-you-the-nice-lady
Everybody has a family story to tell that's full of wisdom. I grew up hearing about my Uncle Harry's discovery that there's no easy way for a man to say No to a predatory woman, especially one, like Tallulah Bankhead, clad in only a bottle a bourbon.BeautyIdentityMarriagePsychopharmacologyRace and EthnicityRelationshipsSexSocial LifeSocial NetworkingSport and CompetitionTeamworkWisdomhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201005/say-no-thank-you-the-nice-lady#comments43002 at http://psychologytoday.comFri, 21 May 2010 18:44:39 -0400Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.We Are Who We Readhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201004/we-are-who-we-read
I come from the South, a land of storytellers. Fiction is necessary: Without it we don't know what it feels like to be anyone except yourself, and therefore we don't really know what we are like, what effect others have on us. We aren't whole and we aren't connected.AlcoholismChild DevelopmentEducationMediaMemoryParentingPersonalityPsychiatryReligionSleephttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201004/we-are-who-we-read#comments41259 at http://psychologytoday.comFri, 16 Apr 2010 18:12:56 -0400Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.Losing One's Senseshttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201003/losing-ones-senses
All of us, as we lose our senses, seek ways to accommodate unless we just decide to stop listening or stop the ongoing comment about the events transpiring around us.AdolescenceAgingAttentionFearHappinessHealthNeuroscienceResilienceScentSmokinghttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201003/losing-ones-senses#comments40432 at http://psychologytoday.comWed, 31 Mar 2010 10:45:17 -0400Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.Lonely Heartshttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201003/lonely-hearts
Shared misery can be as exhilarating as a runaway roller coaster. It is the misery experienced alone that sucks us ever downward. One of the functions of movies is to bring us together and cue us to share the joint feelings. We denizens of the human condition are all in it together, whether it be in Haiti, Chile, or even Washington. We can find the human condition in the movies. AdolescenceBeautyCharismaEmbarrassmentHappinessLonelinessRelationshipsResilienceSelf-Esteemhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201003/lonely-hearts#comments39140 at http://psychologytoday.comFri, 05 Mar 2010 11:20:33 -0500Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.Tiger in the Roughhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201001/tiger-in-the-rough
Tiger Woods has been our untarnished hero, the most reliable of athletes, and the most conscientious of sons, fathers, and husbands. He was the man we all aspired to be. But it seems cruel for Mother Nature to bestow those gifts without the sense and judgment to enable guys to use those gifts wisely. A sheltered boy hears the banter of guy talk. He may not know that the huffing and puffing is part of the game, the show of male bonding, not to be taken literally.AddictionBeautyCareerCharismaConscientiousnessDreamingEnvironmentFearInfidelityMarriageRelationshipsSexhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/201001/tiger-in-the-rough#comments37020 at http://psychologytoday.comWed, 13 Jan 2010 11:09:01 -0500Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.The Scorpion and the Froghttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/200912/the-scorpion-and-the-frog
Are we treacherous scorpions by nature or guileless frogs? Unlike frogs and scorpions, whatever our nature, we are not at the mercy of it. Just because we feel lust, does not mean we just jump the bones of whoever tickles our fancy; just because we feel anger, does not mean we get a free shot at whoever offends us. We have to keep in mind that we are always making choices. Of that, and that alone, we have no choice. We are capable of just about anything, so in contrast to Malcolm Gladwell, we must always think before we blink. AngerDeceptionEnvironmentEthics and MoralitySelf-HelpSport and CompetitionSuicidehttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/200912/the-scorpion-and-the-frog#comments35968 at http://psychologytoday.comWed, 16 Dec 2009 13:16:43 -0500Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.Sometimes Leave 'Em Laughinghttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/200911/sometimes-leave-em-laughing
Child DevelopmentDivorceEmbarrassmentHappinessHumorLaughterPsychiatrySelf-HelpStressTherapyTraumahttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/200911/sometimes-leave-em-laughing#comments34686 at http://psychologytoday.comMon, 09 Nov 2009 15:22:16 -0500Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.How I Became a Movie Reviewer: The Ghosts of Movies Pasthttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/200910/how-i-became-movie-reviewer-the-ghosts-movies-past
Ethics and MoralityMediaTherapyWisdomhttps://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/reel-life/200910/how-i-became-movie-reviewer-the-ghosts-movies-past#comments33964 at http://psychologytoday.comTue, 20 Oct 2009 14:40:55 -0400Reel LifeFrank Pittman M.D.